Question about aquarium setup

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Thank you Byron!
I will go to my &quot;LFS&quot; (I'm learning already!) and get the water tested, and I'll post them either here or ...

I will go to my "LFS" (I'm learning already!) and get the water tested, and I'll post them either here or on a new thread, and we can go from there.

Right now, I was given FlorinGro for my plants...it says it's a concentrated nitrogen source. Do I need this?

here's a marginally better picture...

OH and the plant that lost all its leaves grew a shoot today. I hope it grows.
[IMG]file:///C:/Users/Shahab/Pictures/2010-02-22%20001/P2220017.JPG[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:/Users/Shahab/Pictures/2010-02-22%20001/P2220017.JPG[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:/Users/Shahab/Pictures/2010-02-22%20001/P2220017.JPG[/IMG]

First on the FlorinGro, from what I can find on several sites including the manufacturer's this is strictly a source of nitrogen. I would not recommend it. Nitrogen is necessary for plant growth, but aquatic plants prefer nitrogen as ammonium which they obtain from ammonia produced by the fish and biological processes in the aquarium. There should never be a need to add nitrogen. Of more importance, is the other nutrients that do need to be added, the 15 minerals in particular. I recommend one of the three fertilizers I suggested previously; of the three, Seachem's is probably the best, then the Kent.

As for the plant, in my opinion this is not a species of Echinodorus (Amazon sword family). I think it is a Cryptocoryne from SE Asia, possibly C. albida but I'm not certain; my knowledge with this genus is more limited, but I believe Angel079 (Natalie) knows several of them and she may see this and chime in, or you could send her a PM to have a look at this thread.

That helps. First on the plants, most of those in your list are possible. You expressed a liking for Java Moss, that would do well on the wood, once attached it will spread over the wood. And Vallisneria (corkscrew) you like, that will work fine in your water. Only get a couple, as once established it will send out runners with daughter plants and fill in. I would also suggest one sword, they make nice "centrepiece" plants, placed not in the centre but to one side, maybe next to the wood. It will grow large, I suspect it is the commonly available Echinodorus bleherae. Anubias and Java Fern must be attached to wood or rock, not planted in the gravel. And they do well in shade, esp Anubias, and are slow growing. As this is your first planted tank [hope I remembered that correctly] I would forget the Aponogeton and Cryptocoryne; Apon usually need a dormant period and lose their leaves for a few months; crypts are fussy plants, beautiful but very temperamental. Ludwigia repens would be a nice stem plant.

To the fish: livebearers would suit your water perfectly. If you like tetras and want to go that route, there are some that should manage. Have a look at the Fish Profiles section of this forum, along the top the second name from the left; here's a direct link:http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/profiles/
There are quite a number of the more commonly available tetras now included, and water parameters are suggested for each species. Some will do well above pH 7, some not at all, and others probably. There are photos of each species too. We can discuss more when you have some ideas.

You remembered correctly, this is my first planted tank. I like plants, and would like to see more of them in, but I should probably wait until I get the "feel" of taking care of the ones I have now before I add more.

But...according to this I can have like; six, maybe seven, fish and then my tank is overstocked. I was hoping to put in >10/<15 fish, especially if I need a minimum of 4 cories and some shoaling fish have to be in groups of 4+. Does anyone know how I could diversify my aquarium without sacrificing the comfort of the animals?

I was thinking of adding shrimp...if that affects my situation in any way. Do they eat the fish? or just snap?

You remembered correctly, this is my first planted tank. I like plants, and would like to see more of them in, but I should probably wait until I get the "feel" of taking care of the ones I have now before I add more.

But...according to this I can have like; six, maybe seven, fish and then my tank is overstocked. I was hoping to put in >10/<15 fish, especially if I need a minimum of 4 cories and some shoaling fish have to be in groups of 4+. Does anyone know how I could diversify my aquarium without sacrificing the comfort of the animals?

I was thinking of adding shrimp...if that affects my situation in any way. Do they eat the fish? or just snap?

I don't mean this to be disrespectful of others who use these formula, but I do not. I use common sense from my 20 years experience. You learn (we all do) about fish and what will and won't work based upon the preferred water parameters (which all fish in a tank must share) which includes pH, hardness and temp, behaviours of the species, how they interact, their maximum size, their activity level, the environmental issues (plants, wood, caves if needed, territories)...and how you maintain the tank.

You have an 18g tank; a first consideration is space, and I'm thinking not of volume but of length and height. Shoaling fish that like to swim (danios, some tetras) would find a longer tank and shallower much more "normal" and thus be healthier. Corys don't particularly care, because they like to just poke around all over the substrate, but having bits of wood and plants makes them more at ease because it gives them more surface for poking around (they browse plant leaves, wood) plus it breaks up the substrate and is more "interesting" as we would call it. Similarly, a small gourami or betta would feel at home in a tank with less length or not, because they are sedate fish that spend time among floating plants browsing for food, breathing at the surface, and so on. Some pencilfish also suit this taller tank, same reason; the Nannostomus eques (diptail pencilfish) act just the same, browsing plant roots and twigs, not swimming around. Cardinals do well in such setups, but rummynose don't because they swim more. I think you get the drift--and I'm not meaning to suggest all these mentioned go together in your tank, it is just for illustrative purposes I mention particular species.

So, once you know the type of fish you want, bearing in mind they need to suit the physical environment, water parameters, and such, the number will depend upon their needs (size, activity, behaviour).

I'll probably stick to some platys/mollies, get a couple more sterbai cories and maybe a small shrimp, and leave it at that. I'll also probably get the java fern/moss, may the anubais, and the ledwig repens, and that'll be all for plants (although I really want a densely planted tank).

One more thing. I have a spinning bio-filter thing, and my hobbyist friend said they're more or less useles; I have more bacteria on my carbon pad probably. Can I take the spinning filter out and replace it with a sponge?

I'll probably stick to some platys/mollies, get a couple more sterbai cories and maybe a small shrimp, and leave it at that. I'll also probably get the java fern/moss, may the anubais, and the ledwig repens, and that'll be all for plants (although I really want a densely planted tank).

One more thing. I have a spinning bio-filter thing, and my hobbyist friend said they're more or less useles; I have more bacteria on my carbon pad probably. Can I take the spinning filter out and replace it with a sponge?

Yes, absolutely. Put the sponge filter in and leave both for a few days, to allow bacteria to colonize the sponge so when the other filter is then removed it won't cause a mini-cycle issue.

What are your water parameters (pH and hardness if you know them)? Might suggest some other plants when you answer.

Well, when I test my water it reads 7.6 (that's the lowest, the next highest is 7.2) when I tested it at PetCo the other day, the assistant got 7.5. When I asked for water hardness he only told me that my water was "hard."
Just in case, I have 1 x fluorescent bulb and 1 x CoralLife Nutrigrow specifically for my plants.

by the way, that fish you have as your avatar is absolutely gorgeous. Is it some sort of puffer?